1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a silicon disk drive with few slots for plural disks capable of being built-in or externally connected with a main frame system of a computer or any of other digital products, and especially to a silicon disk drive with few slots for plural disks having a single slot or two slots with the function of reading and writing silicon disks (portable memory cards) of various specifications to satisfy the requirements of consumers of various groups of people, and to solve the long pending problems of confusing, misleading and being subjected to damage of conventional techniques having silicon disk drives designed to have more than three slots.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A silicon disk drive is a device able to read and write silicon disks (also called as portable memory cards); the silicon disks are light, thin and small, they have the superior features of having high storage capacity, vibration durability as well as repeated memory function, and can be widely used in the field of information appliances (IA) and multiple portable digital products. For example, popular products in the markets such as personal digital assistants (PDA), digital cameras (DSC), MP3 players etc. nearly all use silicon disks as storage media.
In view that IA is a new field of products, the products in the field are novel and include multiple kinds, standards of silicon disks become the criteria which make struggles for development as well as competitions among international big manufacturers in the markets. There is no uniform standard or specification presently in the art of silicon disks in the whole world. Products that are mutually related not only are multifactorial, but also have their respective predominance in the markets, but they are just lack of uniform standards and specifications for silicon disks. This renders various portable digital products and computer systems and peripheral equipments of computers unable to achieve effective availability, and also makes inconvenience of use of consumers. The followings are the available silicon disks in the markets presently:
1) PCMCIA Cards (PCMCIA ATA Flash Cards)
The specifications of PCMCIA cards are established by the Personal Computer Memory Cards International Association (PCMCIA), this specifications of standards include: length 85.6 mm, width 54 mm, while about thickness, they are divided into three kinds: those for Type I (3.3 mm), Type II (5 mm) and Type III (10.5 mm); and are applied to notebook PCs"".
2) CF Cards (Compact Flash Cards)
The specifications of CF cards are of those memory cards which are light, thin and small, this specifications of standards include: length 43 mm, width 36 mm, while about thickness, they are divided into two kinds: those for Type I (3.3 mm) and Type II (5 mm); they are characterized by small volume, light weight, good data preservation ability, high reliability and electricity saving; thereby are quite often used on consumable electronics, and mostly are applied to the peripheral equipments of IAs"" such as personal digital assistants (PDA), digital cameras (DSC), MP3 players etc.
3) SM Cards (Smart Media Cards)
Thickness in the specifications of the SM cards is only 0.76 mm. Manufacturers make such cards by direct specific packaging and sealing flash memories in cards; the electric interfaces of the cards are same as those of the flash memories of the manufacturers. The cards are applied mainly on digital cameras (DSC), MP3 players etc.
4) MM Cards (Multimedia Cards)
The specifications of MMC cards are of those silicon disks with the smallest sizes in the markets presently. Thickness of such a card is only 1.4 mm. They use series interfaces, and are applied mainly to digital cameras (DSC), MP3 players, mobile phones etc.
5) MS Cards (Memory Stick Cards)
The specifications of MS cards are about the size of an Arrow brand chewing gum. They use series interfaces. The patent right of the silicon disks belongs to SONY, and has been authorized to some other manufacturers for use. Presently, products apply the MS cards are all those developed and sold solely by SONY, including digital cameras (DSC), MP3 players, PDA, mobile phones with the functions of walkmans and networking, and PCs"" etc.
6) SD Cards (Secure Digital Cards)
Thickness in the specifications of the SD cards is only 2.1 mm, the rest of their apparent sizes are same as those of the MM cards. They use series interfaces too, and are applied mainly to MP3 players, digital cameras (DSC), PDA etc.
By the fact that specifications of the silicon disks are diversified, manufacturers develop silicon disk drives for supporting various silicon disks in view of the fast rising tendency of information appliances (IA) and non-uniform specifications of silicon disks to satisfy the requirements in the markets. However, silicon disks have a plurality of standards, manufacturers of silicon disks can only add number of slots on a silicon disk drive to support silicon disks of various specifications; there have been, for example, three-slot silicon disk drives (for supporting three silicon disk specifications), four-slot silicon disk drives (for supporting four silicon disk specifications) etc.
The measures and construction for conventional multiple-slot silicon disk drives can solve part of the trouble of non-uniform specifications of silicon disks, they bring more problems and inconvenience for users though, such as:
1) Unduly added slots make confusion in usexe2x80x94for example, four-slot silicon disk drives used can support silicon disks of four specifications of SM, MM, MS and SD cards. However, such silicon disk drives will have only on the screen thereof: multiple marks of F slot/G slot/H slot/I slot etc. rather than SMC slot/MMC slot/MSC slot/SDC slot, a user thereby is unable to distinguish which mark represents which of the memory cards has been inserted in. This is subjected to making confusion in use.
2) Unduly added slots make inconvenience in usexe2x80x94similar to the above example, if a silicon disk drive is designed to support the IDE/ATAPI system interfaces, when it is connected to the system interfaces: a four-slot silicon disk drive can only get two slots to function at the same time, (in mutual supporting with the IDE/ATAPI at the end of the mainframe, each connecting line can at most be provided for processing two set of different signals). The rest two slots are thereby provided for nothing, they are inactive when a user wants to read/write in a third memory card, and even the system will be down.
3) Other problems include: unduly added slots make wrong insertion by the user into incorrect slots to damage silicon disks or the slots, this can result the large defects of increasing cost of production, overly large volume and inferior built-in supporting functions etc. resided in all the conventional silicon disk drives with more than three slots.
In view of the defects resided in the conventional techniques, the inventor of the present invention studied and developed the present invention against the problem of non-uniform specifications of silicon disks, and finally gets a silicon disk drive with few slots for plural disks to solve the long pending problems.
Particularly, the silicon disk drive with few slots for plural disks of the present invention provides a slot to suit insertion of those SM, MM, MS and SD cards, and provides another slot to suit insertion of Type I, Type II or Type I CF card, Type II or Type III PCMCIA card, in this way, data in the files of any of the above silicon disks can be read and written, they can be assisted with provision of the design of the IDE/ATAPE, USB or 1934 delivery unit, in order that the abovementioned silicon disk drive having a single slot or two slots can be read and written and used for insertion of all the presently available memory cards.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide the design of a silicon disk drive with a single slot or two slots to support at the same time silicon disks of various specifications, in order that the diversified silicon disks can be communicated without hindering with various portable products, PCs"" and peripheral equipments of a computer in a simpler and more convenient mode. Thereby, a user can get excellent convenience of use, and the confusion resided in the conventional techniques can be gotten rid of.
The secondary object of the present invention is to provide a neat and simplified design for a silicon disk drive assisted with provision of the design of the IDE/ATAPE, USB or 1934 delivery unit, in order that the silicon disk drive can be easily built-in or connected externally to a mainframe system of a computer of any of various specifications and its related peripheral equipments to satisfy the requirements of consumers of various groups of people. In this way, the silicon disks of various specifications can be coordinated, so that a silicon disk drive can be more coincident with the market system.
Additionally, by lacking standardization of specifications of silicon disks in the past, systematic manufacturers hesitate in whether a silicon disk drive can be built-in the system, this indirectly makes disorder of the silicon disks competitive in the markets, and such situation makes loss of rights and interests of consumers. The problem can be solved by using the silicon disk drive with few slots for plural disks of the present invention which renders the unsolvable problem of non-uniform specifications of silicon disks and the problem of whether a silicon disk drive can be built-in the system to be overcome through the present invention. This is large good news for systematic manufacturers and consumers.
The present invention will be apparent in its contents of technique and characteristics after reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof in reference to the accompanying drawings.